BOONE—"Monks knows her monsters, both literal and figurative," said Publisher's Weekly in a starred review of Sheryl Monks' debut story collection, Monsters in Applachia. "And she knows the territory of hills and hollers, where reality is sometimes heightened so sharply that it bleeds into myth."

Her workshop, "How Bad Things Happen to Good Characters: Compression, Tension, and Catharsis in Fiction," will examine the ways in which conflict is the engine that drives any good story, long or short. Bad things simply must happen to good characters. Drawing upon contemporary examples, participants will discuss the fundamental way that short stories and novels differ in structure, beginning with the most fundamental element of any narrative: conflict. How does it work in short fiction? How does it work in the novel? Why is it important to know the difference?

Sheryl Monks is the author of Monsters in Appalachia, published by Vandalia Press, an imprint of West Virginia University Press. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Queens University of Charlotte. Sheryl’s stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Electric Literature, The Butter, The Greensboro Review, storySouth, Regarding Arts and Letters, Night Train, and other journals, and in the anthologies Surreal South: Ghosts and Monsters and Eyes Glowing at the Edge of the Woods: Contemporary West Virginia Fiction and Poetry, among others. She works for a peer-reviewed medical journal and edits the online literary magazine Change Seven. Visit her online at www.sherylmonks.com.

Her Pinterest account offers a Board titled "Books I Love." Titles include Serena by Ron Rash, The Landbreakers by John Ehle,Gap Creek by Robert Morgan, and several titles by Toni Morrison. These are the books that have affected Monks, and SW17 participants can expect these titles to be touchstones during her workshop.

The Squire Summer Writing Workshops offer conferencegoers the chance to study elements of one genre with one instructor over the course of the program. Attendees will work on their own manuscripts, as well as those of their peers, while also attending readings, special presentations, and taking advantage of built-in writing time, amid the beauty and majesty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Joseph Bathanti will lead the course in Poetry. Eric G. Wilson will lead the class in Creative Nonfiction.

The Squire Summer Writing Workshops run July 13-16 at Appalachian State University. This intimate and focused weekend offers conferencegoers the chance to study elements of one genre with one instructor over the course of the program. Attendees will work on their own manuscripts, as well as those of their peers, while also attending readings, special presentations, and taking advantage of built-in writing time, amid the beauty and majesty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Joseph Bathanti will lead the class in poetry, "Writing the Longer Narrative Poem." Sheryl Monks will lead the fiction course, "How Bad Things Happen to Good Characters: Compression, Tension, and Catharsis in Fiction." Eric G. Wilson will lead the creative nonfiction workshop, "Creating Presence: Voice in Creative Nonfiction."

Boone, home to Appalachian State University, is the cultural center of North Carolina's High Country. TripAdvisor named this small town, which is a popular vacation destination, the number-two "Diamond in the Rough," and National Geographic named it among its "Best Places to Live and Play." Along with great breweries, restaurants, and local businesses, Boone typically boasts temperatures no warmer than 76 degrees, which will come as quite a relief to many Squire Summer Writing Workshops registrants by mid-July.

Tailypo is the first in Granite Falls Brewing Company's new Appalachian Storytellers series based on the legends and tall tales that arose in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where their brewery was born.

Aged in thirty-year-old Nicaraguan rum barrels and ringing in at an imposing 14.9 percent ABV, it is a brew for the discerning beer lover. Notes of raisin, date, and fig play with undertones of chocolate, molasses, and brown sugar to create a complex tapestry of flavor that is both unique and unforgettable. 14.9 percent ABV is the highest ABV allowed by North Carolina law.

For more information about the Squire Summer Writing Workshops, and to register, click here.

The non-profit North Carolina Writers’ Network is the state’s oldest and largest literary arts services organization devoted to all writers at all stages of development. For additional information, visit www.ncwriters.org.